Captain Shinigami-san
by HannokiKaen
Summary: Where does a soul go when it dies a second time? Reincarnation? Ichigo had never cared to learn, but when his untimely death sent him to a whole nother world he has no choice but to learn, and learn fast. Bleach/One Piece Crossover
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor One Piece, neither am I making any money off the distribution of this writing.

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He had seen it coming. Ichigo had seen his death coming, and even as the out of control highway truck skidded his way he couldn't help but think that the irony was fitting. After everything he had been through, every time he had stared death in the face, whether as a ghost, hollow, mortal or a shinigami and it had not claimed him - that he would see his death coming but would not be able to fight back. Well, if nothing else he could say without a doubt that somebody up there hated him.

The truck carreened into him at an uncontrolled 70 miles an hour, throwing Ichigo's body a further ten yards down the road where it landed face up staring up at the blue sky with vacant eyes. The hero of the winter war was dead by the time his body hit the ground.

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AN: This is a first for me, not only is it the first crossover I have published it will also have the shortest chapters (normally I stick with 2000-6000), this may or may increase as I go on. If nothing else short chapters will mean more chapters more often, and I may publish several times a day. Also if anyone wants to beta this drop me a line and we will see how it goes.

Kaen


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I neither own nor make profit off either One Piece or Bleach - what do you think I'm insane?

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Ichigo opened his eyes to black. Squeezing them shut he shook his head and blinked rapidly. No change. It was still black out. He raised his hand in front of his face and waved it; his eyes couldn't even make out a blur.

'Perfect,' he thought, 'Just perfect.' Sucking in a deep breath, or what amounted for a breath in this dark place, he picked a direction and started walking. He had only been walking for a few minutes when he realized that in this landscape of nothing, he shouldn't be able to walk as if there was something under his feet.

As soon as he realized that he pitched forward and plummeted, only the tug on his clothes the signal that some form of gravity had activated. Franticly the ex-shinigami tried to think of how to stop. No sooner then when he pictured Unohana-taicho's path across the Dangai did he find footholds for him to stand on.

Given that everything seemed safe for now Ichigo tilted back his head and tried to think for a minute. Wherever he was seemed to react to his thoughts, if he thought something should be possible it happened. Experimentally he let his eyelids droop and thought firmly. 'Light. There should be light.' Then he drew a deep breath and opened his eyes.

Nothing had changed. All that surrounded him was black.

"Well, that's one plan scuppered." Ichigo commented out loud. Continuing to voice his thoughts; anything to stop this near complete sensory deprivation, he pursued his earlier thought. This place was a lot like the Dangai, that place between times in which he had found and lost parts of his very soul. The teenager shuddered at the memory and firmly turned his thoughts elsewhere. "But if that's true, then I would have been swallowed by the currents. After all," he continued bitterly. "I don't have reiatsu anymore."

"That is not strictly accurate," A voice interupted his musings.

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AN: So this is a bit longer then the previous one, and typed in a short time. If there are any grammerical mistakes please point them out, I have been rushing this. I should have another chapter or two out tomorrow (also - I may not keep that schedule up permentantly).

Kaen


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own nor make profit of any verses I dabble in.

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Ichigo would later deny to his dying breath that the noise that came out of his mouth ever happened. What little dignity that the boy retained was desperate to ignore the scream of fright that escaped his mouth in a manner reminiscent of a elementary schoolgirl. After jumping three feet in the air and whirling midair to face the direction that the voice had come from he reached behind him for his Zanpakuto. His hand met nothing but air; he had forgotten that when he lost two thirds of his soul - a loss that he suspected he would never 'be over' - he had also lost the hard won ability to protect himself and others.

"Who's there!" Ichigo shouted with forced bravado.

A deep sonorous chuckle me his demands, "Why are facing that way, _hero of the winter war_? I am not there."

Indeed the voice was coming from his right, but when the carrot top swivelled to face that direction all he could see was black. Ichigo felt a new found empathy for blind people.

A bright giggle, sounding as if it had escaped from a five-year old girls mouth, resounded again, "I am not there either, shinigami."

"Didn't you get the message? I'm not a shinigami anymore!"

"You once were, vizard, and for me what one was once, what one is and what one can be are all truths. Little hollow,-"

"I'm not a hollow-"

"you have come to the place beyond the Dangai. Look around, you are not in Heuco Mundo, nor Seretei or Rukongai, nor the human world. You are beyond, floating between thousands of millions of realms."

"Even if that is true what am I doing here!"

The voice was silent for such a time that Ichigo began to wonder if he would receive an answer. Then it spoke, "You were born between mortal and immortal, alive and deceased. Thrice you have knocked on my door, and now you have entered. There is no going back to the worlds you know from soul death. And do not be mistaken Captain-san, your soul _is_ dead."

"I was never a captain." Ichigo chose to ignore the rest of what he had heard; it wasn't as if he had understood most of it, and what he did understand was not comforting. What did it mean when one's soul was dead, not merely the body?

"Of the shinigami; perhaps not." An aged mans voice hummed non-concomitantly.

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Here's the next chap. Hope you . I'll probably have another chapter out this afternoon sometime.

Kaen


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own. I don't make money off this.

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Ignoring that bit of criptic non answer Ichigo focused instead what was happening then - whenever then was. Actually no that he thought about he could see how the beings sense of time could get skewed in this place, especially if it could truly know ones past and future as if it were current.

"If my soul's dead, then why am I here?" The soul, as Ichigo had learnt over the past few years, was all that mattered. Everthing else was ephermeal, but the soul defined you, a soul could be shinigami, hollow, human or ghost and the state of the soul determined what you were. If he had no soul there should have been no reason for him to exist. "For that matter, how did my body dying kill my soul?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki's body died one year, five months and four days before his soul died. When the soul was severed from its shell it died quickly without reiatsu to support it. You are here because your soul is dead, not gone. I remember your soul as it was when you were born, and I can create a form for it to go back to." The former vizard

"You mean, you can bring me back to life?"

The voice had changed to a low sultry hum, more appropriate in the back-room of a bar then in this blank space. "I can make you anew, but I cannot put you back in your world. Your soul is dead, but you did/do/will do me a great service in one time, Muge-tsu." It drew out the name, caressing it in a manner that made Ichigo blush to the tips of his ears. "Rules say that something must be repaid with something and so I took your soul into the place between. I will and have repaid my debt."

The scowling boy began to put together the information he had learnt, rules that must be kept, debts that must be paid - that was the law of the kami.

"You-you're a kami?" Ichigo stammered.

"By some definition of the word." There was a pause from the being, before it continued on in a friendly tone. "The Shinigami call me 'king'; though I am no king of theirs, merely a medium through which nature spirits and souls came together and became zanpakuto and master."

Ichigo paled; the relationship between a shinigami and his sword had been around for thousands of years, with students being taught from a master of the art much like Uruhara had taught him, before Yamamoto Genryusai had formed the Shinigami academy, for this being to have moulded that relationship and still be alive... It was no wonder that Seretei and Rukongai called him king.

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AN: Sorry this is late. I hope you enjoy it. I've been making small grammerical corrections to the previous chapters so feel free to reread them. If there are any suggestions feel free to drop me a line in a review or a PM.

Kaen


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: DO NOT OWN!

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"But-" Ichigo paused, worried about offending this potentially all powerful being before his natural recklessness took over. "If you're the soul king, why didn't you stop Aizen? Rangiku is still in a coma and Soi Fon still can't use all of her arm. Why didn't you step in a hundred years ago when Shinji and the others were being turned into Vizards? And you couldn't have known I would be able to stop him; what if he had really destroyed Karakura? This whole time Aizen was gunning for you, he wanted to be soul king - and you couldn't smack him down?"

"There are laws, child," The voice was still patient, but it sounded unconcerned, even when addressing deaths and war.

'_Not_ human,' Ichigo reminded himself, 'he's been around so much that one war in soul society is just par to the course,'

"There are laws," It repeated, "That all higher beings must follow. A kami cannot challange a mortal; a being capable of demise and rebirth in the manner of humans, unless that mortal has first come before it and laid down a challange. Unlike human rules, kami and beings like kami are physically and mentally incapable of going against the laws written into my creation.

"Aizen would never have been able to survive the use of the Kings Key, and he would not have been able to hurt me had he met me, but I was not allowed to interfere in the wars of mortals."

The orange haired teenager peered out into the darkness for several seconds before nodding. "If there was nothing you could have done... I guess I can hardly blame you. Why do you owe me anything though? I was just protecting my friends, I didn't do anything for you and even if I had been fighting to protect you its not like you woul have needed my help."

"In a future that could/would have been, without your presence Aizen created a tainted Kings Key and made it past the Dangai. The Hogyoku would have been able to fracture his soul to a point where he could travel between innumerable worlds. As he was/would have been/could become very few realms would have had the power to fight him off.

"Eventually his travels, warping and learning would have elevated him to the position of a minor dark kami. At that point another lesser kami or myself could and would have stepped in and removed his soul and power from all existence. Billions would have died at a time not there own and the realms themselves would be damaged in ways that would take centuries to heal. The debt is irrefutable and binding, _One-who-Protects_."

In the empty black silence reigned and for several long moments - hard to judge just how long in a place beyond time - nobody spoke.

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AN: Sorry this is late, I wrote Chapter 5 all up, reread it, then decided it was a much better chapter 6 and wrote this up. At least I should be able to have Chapter 6 up within a few hours.

Also! A big shout out to everybody that has favourited and reviewed this! I hope people are enjoying it.

Kaen


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not owned in any way by moi - I wish.

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Captain Shinigami-san 6

"You cannot remain here." The Soul King spoke un-apologetically. "Your soul is safe as long as you are here but your mind would crack under the sensory deprivation. And you cannot remain in soul society; you will begin to disperse within a matter of days, as the little reiryoku that you retained will be unable to replenish itself. It would be a painful death and the unconscious reiatsu emitted by any shinigami would shorten your demise considerably." It paused, "If you wish you could consider the effect of attempting to return to the Soul Society as similar to how a soul's body dissolves over the course of days after second death. The only relevant difference is that you would be aware and in a great deal of agony during your bodies breaking.  
"Instead; should you choose to accept, I would send you to another world, where the Rules will allow me to rejuvenate your soul."  
Ichigo nodded tightly. "Will I ever see my friends again? Or Yuzu and Karin?" he asked; although most of his allies had been avoiding him since he had lost his powers Shinji and the vizards had borrowed gigai's off Urahara to see him on a regular basis. Beyond that, Chad, Ishida, Orihime and all his normal friends were still present and all hung out with him - when they weren't avoiding him as he took care of hollows. And even if he hadn't seen any of shinigami friends; Rukia, Renji, Toshiro... These were the people that he had given his powers, peace of mind, safety and -briefly- his _life_ for. Although he had not known all he would be sacrificing when he first stepped down that path he would reenter it without hesitation once again for any one of his nakama or family.  
"There is a chance. The world I would send you to is diverse and untamed - it contains one or two possible methods of contacting a person that you know well. As you have felt most of your friends and allies souls through their swords you should be able to contact them. It is unlikely that you will ever be able to see the shinigami's, quincy's or Inoue Orihime in person again. Their souls are bound to their worlds and yours will not be capable of surviving in those worlds."  
Ichigo looked downcast but nodded, just the possibility that he might me able to to speak with his family and friends - well that almost made this bareble, especially considering the alternative. Suddenly he paused,"You haven't mentioned hollows, arrancars or vizards," Ichigo questioned blandly.  
A bright child's giggle and then a warm motherly voice replied, "You caught that I see? Yes, the process of hollowization damages the soul in a way that makes it more flexible in the eyes of the Rules. If you arrive in a situation that allows you to pay suitable tariff for their travel I will personally convey a partial or full hollow across the void. I warn you however, that individual will be visible in the eyes of the mortals in your new world and when dead a second time will head to that world's afterlife."  
_ 'Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate_.' Zangetsu's voice seemed to echo in his former wielder's head. 'That's right,' Ichigo thought, 'The hollow... Ossan, everybody would all want me to keep walking forward.' Ichigo bowed low, in a mark of obeisance that anyone that knew him would be shocked to see, "Then, Kami-sama, I would be honoured if you chose to repay your percieved debt to me by transferring my soul to another realm."

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AN: Told you it would be out soon!

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AN2: Hey, I just did a bit of an edit for this chapter, rounds it out a bit. If you want to read it its in the last paragraph. I should have Chapter 7 out today.

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AN3: So I did an edit. I've been catching up (a _tiny _bit) with the main Bleach story line (I stopped reading after Aizen went bye-bye for various reasons...). The edit is mainly to make this a little more canon compliant. This edit was done on Sept. 10th 2013. I'm working dutifully on the next chapters.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Typical rhetoric

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"If you have agreed to life then so to shall I agree to the repayment of mine debt," The Soul King said formally, "Kurosaki Ichigo; thrice have you died in my service -unknowing or not - and twice have you lost some of your soul. Your soul and rightful powers shall be restored unto you in a new world and you might ask three boons, once for each you died. One boon has been granted. I shall transport thee to another world where you might live. Ask your boons and you shall recieve."

The former subsitute shinigami let out a long breath of relief and felt his knees go weak. To have his powers again, to be able to protect again but most of all to feel that hole inside of his being closed- But he couldn't focus on that now. He had to think about those boons first... The teenager knew he needed to accept. By refusing additional aid it would be like saying that he did not respect the Kami's laws - and considering these were the laws that a Kami was forced to live by... well that would be an offence of the highest order.

Finally Ichigo asked, "Where can I find something I can use to communicate across worlds and how can I pay the cost for travel?" He definitely needed some more information before he signed on a dotted line.

"Hmmm..." The Kami hummed aloud in thought and paused with opening the portal, "Knowledge such as this an be placed under the cost of your travel so I shall tell you these things for free. Do not expect such behaviour from any kami or other beings; they are not and were never in your debt. I am placing you on an the grandline. There are three places in the world that contain communicators that will callibrate with your energy and can be used to communicate with any worlds you have spent time in and spilled blood in. The place with the name I shall give you is Marineford. This communicator is known as the Meteoric Globe to the humans of that world.

"If you want one of your companions to come through you must do a boon to a kami of sufficient rank who will in turn request my use as a world traveler. These kami will know that it is I you speak of if you call me Mediator; my proper title. I am the divide between all worlds, I taught souls how to join with spirits and I exist between life and death, truth and time."

There was another long pause before Ichigo asked his two wishes.

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AN: Right, so here is chapter seven. I will definitely have Ichigo in the One Piece verse before chapter 12 - so don't start sharpening those axes yet. I did a brief edit to the last paragraph of Chapter 6 - check it out it rounds out the picture a bit more. Also did some grammer checks but those were relatively minor. Big thanks to everybody who read, favorited and/or alerted the story. R&R people.

Kaen


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: No own. No profit.

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"I will already have my powers upon going to the new world right? I will still be a shinigami - vizard - whatever I am?"

"Yes, I will be returning your soul to you, including Zangetsu and your hollow."

"Then can one of my rewards to go towards my sisters? Karin and Yuzu can see some ghosts, and I know that Karin can fight off lower level hollows but if there is any way I can protect them still - give them the ability to get away from a too strong enemy or make it so that they can't be changed in to hollows..." Ichigo let his suggestion trail off on a questioning lilt. He would always put his sisters above everything else, he had plunged a sword in to his chest with no guarantee of survival for them once, and he would do so again.

Although the teen couldn't see anything he got the impression that the Spirit King was nodding, "Yes, shinigami I will repay one of your boons by preventing the encroachment of your sisters soul chains. And your other wish?"

Ichigo considered for a minute. There wasn't much else he could wish for and expect to get. The one time he had asked Rukia about any truth in the old myths about kami's she had said that the most important thing to remember was that while they were entirely truthful, they didn't necessarily say _all_ of the truth. If he asked for something that the being would be obligated to pay despite wishes to the contrary -eternal knowledge, endless reiatsu, eternal life - his wish would be answered; chances were, however that the kami would create a situation that would make him anything but joyful. Ichigo grimaced as he thought of how the being could twist even the most benign of wishes. On the other hand the shinigami could not continue to hold the wishes over the beings head - that in itself would be offensive.

"If - if I could keep the last wish on reserve," The dark suddenly seemed more ominous then ever before, "For a specific purpose!" Ichigo hurried on, "Can this wish be kept as future payment for the travel of any one of my part-hollow friends? After I get in contact with them some of them might want to come here. I know that Shinji and the others aren't very happy with how the Seiretti has been treating them."

Left unsaid was the fact that their position in Soul Society might not be just uncomfortable but also unsafe - Ichigo remembered the things that Soul Society was capable of, the Quincies not least of it.

"I can do that..." Another long pause, during which Ichigo almost forgot the fact that he was wearing clothing - or even why that it mattered - and it too slowly began to be swallowed in the reishi-less atmosphere. Ichigo came back to himself with a shout; suddenly remembering the kami's words -_ 'you can not remain here.'_

Finally the kami finished. "I will let you bring four companions through the between in return for your favour; four for the number that signifies death.

"And now I shall send you. The name of the island upon which you will wake is Ohara," Ichigo leaned forward, trying to commit as much of this information to his mind as possible. Anything that he could learn on his new home would be invaluable. The Spirit Kings voice began to echo around him, as if the words were being shouted, whispered and hissed from every angle in the dark, "and was the home of great tragedy where upon many innocents died before there time in the pursuit of knowledge. I know not how the measurement of time will read by mortal standards upon your arrival however you will arrive after the deaths. It is likely various kami and spirits reside or visit there, for the island is a nexus within the spirit world. Because of the history of the island do not expect them to be friendly - the history of a place effects the dwellers upon said place."

And then there was no more.

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AN: I'm ALIVE! Shocking I know. No, I have not abandoned this story (NEVER), I've just had a stressful week (ish). I almost lost my computer to hackers and have been running scans on a daily basis since then. Prepping for collage took some time and bye the time I had time to spend writing I had (briefly) got out of the addition, the next bit (and where Ichigo would land) took some time to sus out.

On the other hand I should have another two - five chapters written today and tomorrow (may not publish them till Saturday or Sunday). As always if you see any grammer mistakes (or wanna beta) feel free to drop me a line.

Also some reviewers have been asking me whether or not my chapters can get longer. That all comes down to how often you want me to update but I will probably end up rounding length out to 1000-2000 per chapter. The way I have been designing this story doesn't support longer.

To round out this too long AN I just want to add this: If anybody has any suggestions for who Ichigo should pull through to One Piece (which won't happen for several chapters - first he has to get to Marineford and talk to home) drop me a line and I will add it to the competition in my head.

Hope you enjoy!

Kaen


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own or make profit of One Piece or Bleach.

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The following discription is aplicable to all following chapters.

'**Hi.'** - Hollow talking in mind/between Ichigo, Zangetsu and him

_'__**Hi.' **_**-** Hollow thinking to himself

**"Hi." **Hollow talking out loud (materialized) (also all other hollows if around)

'Hi.' - Zangetsu talking telepathically with Hollow, Ichigo

'_Hi_.' - Zangetsu thinking to himself

"Hi." - Zangetsu speaking out loud (materialized)

'Hi.' Ichigo speaking to his mental partners.

'Hi.' Ichigo thinking to himself

"Hi." Ichigo (or other human characters) speaking out loud.

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**'-ing! Oi! King! Wake the hell up you useless KING!'**

"Gah!" Ichigo sat bolt upright with a cry that he would later deny ever came from him. "Huh? Where am I?" Indeed the teenager had a good reason to be so shocked. He was standing in the midst of what could have been the aftermath of a fire bombing during WW2. As he scrambled to his feet and swiveled his head he could see crystal clear glittering water on all sides. From his high viewpoint there was nothing to obstruct his view of the ocean. What might have blocked his gaze was now reduced to blackened husks that had once have been trees and muddy ashy ground. In one or two places a withered tough weed clung to life, only seeming to emphasize the otherwise barren landscape.

Ichigo was struck dumb just staring at the ruination before him. "What happened here?" He asked the empty air in front of him. There-by he was understandably shocked when it responded. Space twisted and the intangible became mass as the figure of Ichigo's inner hollow took form.

**"How the hell should I know! You're the one who ****_died_**** - and you're the one who made a deal with a god; you- you idiot!"**

The hollows yellow eyes were alight with passion as he lit into the still shocked Ichigo. Going by what he had learnt from the dark place he should have perhaps expected this - but he had the feeling that he would never have been able to expect the angered, protective accusations from a third of his soul.

"Indeed Ichigo," Zangetsu spoke; coldly furious, from his place, appearing on the other side of the hollow, "I want you safe and happy - protected. You died!"

It seemed this would be a major sticking point with both parts of his soul.

"I had no choice!" Ichigo refuted, "Ossan... You know that kid wouldn't have been able to get off the road in in time, and the tanker was completely out of control." Against his will the teenager, not even 19, flashed back to the moment he has seen the child, a four year old girl with soft brown hair that reminded him of Yuzu's when she was that age. In a matter of seconds previously dorment wartime instincts had flared to life and he had seen the future flash before him. The large highway truck would have continued skidding sideways down the road and the girl would have died.

He hadn't hesitated. In a burst of adrenaline fueled speed he has lunged in front of the child, between her and the approaching vehicle and scooped her up; with no time to carry her out he had tossed her to the side with all the strength his muscles could muster. She would likely be bruised, and almost certainly suffer a broken bone or two, but she would be alive. Meanwhile the hero of the winter war had barely enough time to look his death in the face before the crushing impact had thrown his broken body back.

"I told you before," Zangetsu's rough voice stated, "What I wanted to protect, was you, Ichigo. Your soul would have died if not for the Mediator. I care not for the child. All I care for is you."

Ichigo looked up startled from where he had been contemplating his feet (whole, encased in the sneakers he has been wearing before he has died, his mortal body and his effects from the time of his death having apparently made the journey with him) and stared at his zanpakuto. That singularly focused morality and amorality sounded like what a kami might have said. The orangette knew that kami and shin (as in the spelling of shinigami) were merely different readings of the same character. He had thought that Shinigami were called Death Gods because that was how a spiritually aware person would have interpreted an effectively immortal reaper of souls several hundred years ago. Ichigo had never considered that the title might be at least a little accurate, and that the zanpakuto that attached themselves to their wielders souls could, once upon a time, been minor kami's themselves.

Embarrassed by the emotions being expressed Ichigo's hollow turned on his heel, giving the small island a 360 degree scan.** "So where are we anyway?"**

"It must be Ohara." Ichigo said. "The Spirit King said we'd wake up in Ohara; and he said that a bunch of people died here."

Zangetsu nodded, willing to ignore the argument between he and his wielder in favour of working together in this new world. "Judging by the ash, and the lack of new life I would say it's been at least a year - but unless I completely underestimate the damage done to this place" (considering the trio was used to battles that not only damaged the physical landscape but also left scars in the equivalent _spiritual_ land, this was not likely) "I would guess that whichever slaughter occurred here happened no more than fifteen years ago - and even that is pushing credulity. Of course," he paused, "we have no way of knowing how close this island is to others, which would determine how quickly new wildlife would grow."

Ichigo looked at the devastation before him with haunted eyes, remembering the battles and deaths he had seen. "What happened here?"

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And that's a wrap. (probably my longest chapter so far) I should have chapter 10 out tomorrow and maybe chapter 11 out then or on Monday. I'm a bit nervous about this chapter - I'm not sure if I gave the reunion justice and I hope people liked/didn't dislike my minor flashbackish thing. I feel I should point out that this isn't all or the reunion, all being stoic manly men they have decided to ignore and issues (whether good or bad) between them in favour of other topics. The remade partnership WILL be addressed in numerous chapters to come.

On happy news I got my apartment yesterday (ITS SO PRETTY!) and will finally get to semi-move out as I go to Uni.

Thanks to everybody who has read, favourited, alerted and reviewed! You wonderful people you. I worked extra hard on this chapter for those three reviewers (you know who you are - and I'l get on replying to you next)As always if you have any suggestions (or want to beta) drop me a line.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I am not a mangaka or a literary genius. Nough said.

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The three beings, two spirits and a human (by some value of the word) reconvened several hours later. They had split up to examine the island that they found themselves on hoping to find clues to what had happened and how to get off. Ichigo had had some trouble as he searched; not only were his own discoveries disturbing Zangetsu and the hollow were pretty distracting. Although his partners presence in the back of his head was comforting the constant sharing of emotions between the three of them whenever one of them found something noteworthy was hard for him to push to the back of his head.

The hollow started off the discussion, "King! Whoever did this didn't care who they hurt. I found some really _small_ bones in a pile of ashes and mud. Plus I found this."

'This' was a piece of porcelain, it looked like a tiny mask but when Ichigo looked closer he could see how the paint, which formed the dolls eyes, red cheeks and lips had all been burnt away; half of the jaw and been broken off. The shattered dolls face was an almost painfully fitting representation of the island itself.

The hollow, being formed from Ichigo's soul actually had a soft spot (that no one was supposed to know about) for young children, especially girls that reminded them of Yuzu or Karin.

"I too found bones and other examples of civilians." Zangetsu continued; behind his shades his eyes were hard and disgusted, "Many of the bodies were in what likely used to be their homes. I found something else that was unusual. Various places - hollows in the ground mostly - but also around where some buildings and other man made structures are are covered by what looks like recent lava; other places also have deposits of ice in them, mainly the hollows where I am assuming the ice would be more resistant to melting. There's residual reiryoku in the material - which would explain how the ice lasted so long. The signature's are strange but its obvious that at least two different people - with opposite powers were here and went to great effort to annihalate the island."

Ichigo nodded firmly. "Right, I found the same things but I was actually searching for the spirits the Spirit King mentioned. If nothing else, after dying in such a traumatic way I figured there should be _some_ ghosts around."

The hollow broke in, shocked, "King had a good idea? You have changed!"

"Oh shut up hollow!" Ichigo growled; then he turned thoughtful, "Hey - do you have a name?"

"I told you before. I'm Zangetsu! We're just different sides of the same coin - or couldn't you tell from how we had to _combine_ for you to use Mugetsu?" The hollow frowned, his yellow eyes aglow with irritation, "Why does it matter anyways?"

"Well I can't exactly call you hollow all the time can I? That's not a who that's a what - besides it doesn't come off the tongue that easy. But if your name's really Zangetsu that doesn't help any. I can't yell at Zangetsu to shut up - especially when only one of you is talking!"

" Call me whatever you want; I'll still respond if I'm not upset with you - even more so when there's a fight involved! You don't have to call us by our name; we just like it cause its _ours_. You're the king; depending on how you release us our power will respond in different ways.

"Then... Shiro?"

Shiro exploded; leaning towards Ichigo as if he wanted to wrap his pale hands around his wielders neck. "Oh hell no! You're not calling me 'white'. I take that back. You can call me anything _decent_!"

"I'll just keep calling you Hollow then. At least until I think up a decent name."

Zangetsu coughed, "As fascinating as this all is; Ichigo, you were saying that you had been looking into spirits?"

Ichigo nodded as he shifted on his feet then slouched down to sit cross-legged, "Oh, right. Well I was looking for ghosts but I didn't find any. I'm not sure if its because there aren't any in this world or if all the dead have another reason for being at rest here. What I did find were emotional imprints."

When Zangetsu frowned and opened his mouth to give a no doubt scathing reprimand; a threat made even worse by the way he loomed over the seated teen, Ichigo hurried on, "I kept away from them! Jeez, I already got the lecture from Rukia and Ishida." His voice took on a deadpan tone, "Don't put your reiryoku into a places reishi without a spotter. I got the point after the fifth description of ways to horribly die, fall into a coma or become reishi!" Emotional imprints were defined as cesspools of strong emotions, emotions strong enough that even those with weak reiatsu could leave a mental footprint on the land. When a person with above average reiryoku - such as mediums, shinigami and other spiritually aware beings - merged there energy with the emotions left behind they would receive more insight into what caused the emotions. An active effect; of viewing the events or maybe feeling the emotions and thoughts of the person as they happened versus the passive effect of emotions wafting off the place like the scent of sulfur off a hot spring.

Zangetsu nodded, "As long as you are aware. What did you find from the imprints?"

"Most of them were pretty predictable, fear, shock, anger, hatred, sadness, loss, worry, love, disgust, hope, despair; all things you would expect to find at the sight of a massacre." Ichigo paused, bringing one fist under his chin and resting his elbow on his crooked knee as he tried to think of the right words, "I did manage to find a few places where there imprints were probably from before the slaughter. I got the impression that it was a slow build of one emotion, slight or strong on top of each other. I'm not sure - I'm no Ishida, but I think the layers date back hundreds, if not thousands of years from thousands of people. Most of the emotions there were positive. There were so many I couldn't isolate them all but the most common there was determination, secrecy, joy, curiosity and something that was a combination but I am almost certain would be love of learning."

The trio fell silent as their minds darted to the obvious reasons; none good, for a village who's centre point previous to death seemed to have been a library, school or other research facility to have been annihilated by obviously superior forces.

* * *

AN: I am a horrible human being. This should have been up a week ago. I AM SO SORRY! *bows*. It sat in my notes half finished for almost a week before I tried to finish. Whoever told you getting ready for your (first) collage year was easy was a liar!

I left the story here for a couple reasons. A) it was getting to a decent length (for this story) B) It was a pretty decent ending (the slightly profound moment as they begin to figure out what happened and why) and C) I WANTED TO GET IT OUT.

On topic of the story I'm not sure how much direct plot advancement this sees... but to comfort you there should be some cool supernatural stuff happening in the next few chapters. Ichigo should be leaving Ohara in five chapters at the absolute latest (I'll leave it to your imaginations how they're gonna get off without a boat or any means to make so much as a raft) and in three chapters at the earliest. This ?arc? is actually pretty important to story development. And it's longer! I think...

As always feel free to drop me a line for any reason but especially to critic grammar, and anything else to do with my technique. Are my characters in character? Am I juggling a three way conversation decently (that's my biggest sticking point - I think).

And I'll shut up now.

Kaen


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I am not making money off of either One Piece or Bleach, both of which belong to their respective creators and publishers.

* * *

Ichigo was the first to shake off the gloom that had fallen upon them. "Ossan can you be my spotter?" Ichigo had actually been the best of all his friends at sinking into an imprint. While Ishida had been the best at feeling others signatures subconsciously; something Ichigo had initially been awful at (and still was, when he didn't know and care about who he was sensing) due to his inability to look past his own overwhelming Reiatsu, the part time shinigami had had an amazing capacity for melding his own energies with the energies from an imprint. Although he had never made the comparison it was simliar to the way he and Zangetsu could feel the emotions and deepest desires of whoever crossed blades with them. The only problem was that the wide and deep way in which he sunk into an emotion or history made it very difficult to come back out.  
"I want to see just what made up the happy place. There at least, the imprints date back decades. I should be able to figure out what the people were researching that was dangerous to merit their wipe out. If they were doing something that caused that."  
The hollow nodded, and pulled at the air, summoning his mask, a white bone skull with two horns and black tribal lines decorating it. As the the bleached copy of Ichigo slid the mask on he began to disappear from the feet up. "I'll stay inside King. This looks like it'll be boring on the outside!" Left unsaid was the fact that this would be easier for Ichigo with the hollow's energies firmly bound and part of him.  
"Thanks hollow. Stay quiet in there, you here!" He said firmly, embarrassed from having thanked his hollow, "The last thing I need is _your_ feelings of bloodlust sending me into a repetitive loop of dying."  
Zangetsu nodded his confirmation and gestured with one hand for Ichigo to lead the way.  
The place which Ichigo lead his partner to was barren, even by the standards of this place. In the approximate center of the island there was one especially big pit. The edges were layered with molten rock and great gouges had been made through soil and bedrock.  
"I'm not really positive what was here, but I think it was a tower or something like that. When I concentrate I can sense emotions floating in apparent thin air." Ichigo paused, his attention caught by the warm, proud feelings that fluttered on the edge of his bond with Zangetsu. Ichigo sent a grin his way, the expression lighting up his normally dour face and making him look years younger. "Whatever this was had a really deep foundation or something like that, but I can't sense much down there."  
They were silent for a moment, looking at the pit before the orangette shook it off. "Anyways, lets start. If I get to deep... you know what to do." What to do, in this case meant syncing some reiryoku to his level; an accomplishment made easier by complementary power levels and a pre-existing familiarity with the specific reiatsu, then sending some jolting through him. In essence it was the spiritual equivalent of a defribulator, the same procedure was done for any number of reasons ranging from losing a fight in an inner world, sinking too deep into jinzen, trauma - mental or physical- or any brain damage. It was considered a crucial skill, though one that Ichigo was horrible out, excluding those of fuku-taicho or higher power and people he was close to, people whose reiatsu he was very familiar with.  
"I know."

Ichigo nodded, sinking into the customary position for jinzen and expanding his focus. Unlike jinzen, which extolled the virtue of focusing inwardly and singularly, _hanaseru_, or to be understanding, focused on spreading your energy out and focusing outward.  
Slowly he closed his eyes and let his reiryoku his very being, step away from himself and meet the reishi around him.

* * *

_wonder. surprise. despair beyond acknowledged human capacity. love. pain. escape. hatred. curiosity and the tinkle of a thousand laughs. awe. fire. loneliness even when surrounded on all sides. respect. destruction. boredom and curiosity and determination so intertwined one began before another ended. desperation(the desperately reaching hand). obeisance to an idea. pain. success. grim determination. pain. protect-protect-protect. PAIN._

* * *

With a gasp Ichigo turned away from the cumulative emotions that crashed down upon. Scoring the depths of imprints with all the concentration he could muster he reached out for the oldest -and one of the strongest to have survived so long- imprint and dived into a millennia old wonder.

* * *

_"It's real," an aged man/curious boy from another time/world/place breathed in breathless _wonder_, as the toil/work of a life/goal came to life in front of him. Around him other men grouped behind him as they gaped up into the towering canopy above them. "The Tree of Knowledge is real."_

* * *

'So, it was a _tree_,' Ichigo thought as returned to his own consciousness. 'the old man, a sailor? scholar?, found a mythical tree.' And then Ichigo was no more as he twined love around his soul.

* * *

_"Do you so take this women, Mynat Tinaco to be your single wife? To join, to part, to always hold onto come what may and come what might?" The smiling man in a loud print shirt interrupted the shy/other young mans thoughts from his bold, fiery bride.  
"O-of course." Mynat broke into a wide, irrepresible grin and waited impatiently for the statesmen to finish speaking so she could swear her own vows; something she did proud boisterous words.  
"You may now kiss the - whoa!" The man who had been giving the vows stumbled backwards as Mynat shoved him away so she could kiss her man. Behind her the modest crowd, every person that lived in the small village of scholars and sailors broke into cheers and laughter.  
In the background the towering tree -_bigger now by far then it had been in the last dream, Ichigo noted, and even then it had loomed. This was huge on a whole different level_- overlooked the happy scene as _love_ itself was imprinted into the air._

* * *

Ichigo came back to himself slowly, his own emotions and energy having to fight to pull away from the enthralling reiatsu. In, and out, in, and out. And the teen sank back into the imprint.

* * *

_A man, seemingly ordinary bent over a book while numerous stacks of other books surrounded him. Behind him his hair grew out in a large afro, formed into three main clumps that -together with its pale green shade, put one in mind of a the leaves of a plant, in front the beginning of a beard hung wispily from his jaw. "I think this could be it," he muttered. With a negligent air he leant over and yanked a book from the bottom of one of the piles, his blasé attitude broken as it, then other stacks fell towards him as a result of the domino effect.  
"Ow, ow, hey, ow!" He yelped as he dug himself out of the pile, with a great deal of wining he pulled one thinner volume from the tangled depths of his hair. Coming up with a gasp of air he lifted his hand; still holding the book he had been reaching for, and hurriedly flipped through it. "Yes! I was right, the dating and design of these poneglyphs in the picture patch perfectly with these ones, if we utilize the same principle we should be able to understand them in no time. It will _definitely_ move forward my goal of translating the poneglyph on Ohara. Together they'll definitely lead the way to the 'true history'! Doctor!" The historian shouted as he clambered to his feet and sprinted for the upper level of the library, passing shelves and shelves of book built into the hollow tree. _Success_, his mind screamed. With this new information they would be one step closer to understanding the Void Century._

* * *

The shinigami snorted, amused by the scholars actions. 'A true history huh?' he wondered, 'that's never good. If there's a true history theres a false history and false histories mean secrets.'

* * *

_"Professor Clover, why can't I join the other archeologists and historians in the meetings?" A timid voice asked, full of quiet_ hope. Ichigo peered from her eyes with interest. Whoever this girl was she was important or recent for such a strongly centred imprint to be formed from a comparatively weaker emotion. Actually, this Professor Clover must be important as well. Ichigo recognized him from a previous vision which certainly compounded his importance. In addition... Professor Clover's hairstyle was just that eye catching. Not even the more eccentric arrancar and shinigami matched its impact. 'Well not normally at least, Harribel was pretty damn eye catching in other ways.' _The scrawny little girl came up to just past Professor Clover's hip and her battered red dress only furthered the waif like feeling she gave off.  
Professor Clove fidgeted nervously, before his customary calm took over his face. "Why don't you ask again after you've passed your doctoral exams?" He prevaricated_

* * *

Ichigo smiled wryly as he came out of that memory. It hadn't helped much, but it had been a much more recent scene. Closing his eyes he sought out another scene that happened around the same time.

* * *

_pain.  
fire.  
despair! frantic rushing. we have to do this. dogged determination. limping hobbling run as fire laps at our heels. desperation._  
Ichigo was becoming _lost, a hopeless feeling that cannot be escaped even as you struggle to live, unable to differentiate between real and unreal. pain, fire-fire-fire. flickering bright at the corner of your vision, roaring up in front of you, ready to devour._  
Unprepared for the onslaught of emotion and _pain, the knowledge that the life-work of generations will be lost. despair knowing that nobody will live and that many of your friends-family-lovers-children are already gone. _  
Ichigo floated in a loop of frantic panic and_ pain, as men and women tried to save every book they could from the great library, brushing away smouldering flames with their bare hands, uncaring of burns with the sole desire to save as much written knowledge as possible._

* * *

AN: sorry for the wait. Consolation prize! It's longer, almost twice as much longer compared to the next biggest chapter. ...That was _really_ bad grammar. A mix of start of college, distraction and minor writers block held this up. The next chapter may be a while due to the need to go over the relevant episodes/chapters of One Piece (I'm primarily a bleach person, I've been watching the crap out of AMV's and episodes of One Piece for the past week... another reason this took awhile). Also I know the last little bit is not very grammerically correct. I was trying to express the severe disconnect Ichigo is feeling, and the way in which the imprint is screwing with him. :D

As always thanks to those who reviewed, alerted and/or favorited me. If anybody is willing to beta this, permanently or just for the next few chapters which will have heavy One Piece history going on that would be wonderful. Drop me a line by PM'ing or reviewing.

For those of you who think this is taking awhile to get to the action/interaction you're right. It is. However I hope to make this at least a 50,000 word _thing (at MINIMUM) _and I figure it needs a good foundation; Ichigo needs to have his basic opinions of the world worked out (and a goal which the Ohara Incident will start him on if not give completely) before he leaves the island and meets others... also I have to figure out _how_ he's leaving the island...

Thanks

Kaen


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the published resources (One Piece; Bleach) that I took material from. Nor am I making any profit beyond a boosted ego.

* * *

Chapter 12

Ichigo was awakened by the loud patter of rain. It bounced off the glass windows of his inner world and sank into his clothes, leaving him chilled to the bone. Slowly he blinked up at the sky watching as the rain poured down. Below him the concrete of the streets was being swallowed up by a cold, dark flood. _'What_ was _that?' _he wondered. Staring dazedly at the sky he tried to piece together what had happened. Pain, fire and desperation had ruled his senses for what felt like days, his soul caught in a loop of memory that threatened to repeat itself endlessly. Now it seemed he was free.  
He had no more time to ponder this though as he threw himself to his feet and blurred away in a move that was half Shunpo, half pure speed. As such, he was just able to avoid the hollow's kick, a kick which had been aimed for his head and would likely have given him a headache to remember.  
**"Oi, Ossan.**" The bleached reflection of himself called over his shoulder, "**King's awake."**  
Ichigo gaped wordlessly for a moment before he pointed at the hollow in rage. "Why the hell would you do that!" It wasn't a question that wanted an answer, "You're supposed to ask if I'm awake you idiot! Not hit me!"  
**"It got you up didn't it?"** The hollow grinned maniacally, **"Besides; you dodged it anyways." **A nonchalant shrug,** "Really King, I don't see what you're complaining about."**  
Before Ichigo could make clear just how not okay this was Zangetsu interrupted from his position perched on a nearby flagpole. "Ichigo. What did you learn?"  
The teenager sobered instantly. "It was a library or a university of some sort. Apparently this huge ass tree was called the 'Tree of Knowledge'. " There was silence as Ichigo thought about how to proceed. "I got stuck because-" There was another pause as the shinigami tried to think of a way to quantify the terrible loop of emotions and pain that had kept him within the nightmare. Finally he spoke quietly in a defeated tone. "They died screaming - the scholars I mean."  
Zangetsu nodded, not terribly surprised. Like his wielder he knew the depths human depravity towards life could sink to. "You are drowning in despair Ichigo." One pale hand gestured to the steady downpour of rain from the sideways sky, "Remember, keep moving forward, don't look back. There is nothing you can do for them now and nothing to be gained by retreating."  
**"And if you ever fall behind King," **the hollow comforted mockingly,** "Know that your 'horse' is ready and willing to take over."**  
Ichigo took a deep breath and nodded. "Keep moving forward huh?" Slowly the skies above stopped raining. The sky was still overcast, representing Ichigo's present unrest and sadness over the loss of his home but he was no longer in danger of falling into despair. "And I thought we had worked this out all ready?" He directed to the hollow in irritation.  
**"What's the matter king? Afraid? I told you before didn't I; 'Don't forget that either one of us can become the king or the horse', if you ever fall to my level I'll be right here waiting to crush your skull and take your crown. I'm not here to protect some sissy." **  
Ichigo hid a smile as he thought to himself, _'he says that but doesn't he really mean don't fall down and I believe in you? Jeez... Is my other self really a tsundere?' _Ichigo had had a year to both grow more mature and to analyse all his past interactions with the manifestations of his power. Unlike the last time he had seen his hollow he could now focus on meanings beyond the literal. Across from them Zangetsu chuckled at the exchange.  
The orange haired shinigami shook his head and returned his focus to Ohara. "I'm going to find out more about what the people here were researching." He said firmly, "They were talking about discovering a 'true history' and they were thinking about a 'Void Century' a period in time around 800 years ago where there is a 'blank' space in history of approximately 100 years. And if I can't find out why somebody wanted this research gone then I'll definitely find out who wanted them gone. Zangetsu, wake me up if I get trapped again."  
"Very well Ichigo, but remember, you have a human body that requires substance, and there will be none to be found on this island. Regardless of the mysteries to be unraveled here, we must leave within the next two days. You were out for two hours when last you submerged and I do not know how far away a safe water source would be and your reiatsu does not boost your bodies' functions _that_ much."

* * *

Slowly Ichigo submerged himself in the pool of memories. Hastened by his partner's words he skimmed through memories, barely letting himself graze the surface impressions before he flitted to the next. Dozens of snippets ranging from clandestine meetings behind stacks of books (Ichigo blushed furiously and threw himself away) to overwhelming frustration as days of research led to a dead end flitted before him.

One of the few scenes that he gathered more then impressions as he skimmed the vast repository while searching for something that would give him answers was of Robin and Clover. By now he was getting a feel for their reiatsu and had begun to search them out. Although he came across many scenes of them studying, or playing, or on one memorable occasion Robin crying into Clover's chest because the village children had been bullying her it was the meeting between the two of him that struck him the most.

* * *

_Robin was tiny. By Ichigo's best estimates she was probably a very small four - and a very smart four year old if the way she was looking at the books she could reach on the bottom shelves was any indication. Slowly she puzzled out each character embossed on the spine; mouthing the sounds as she went. Delicate fingers reached out to stroke the rich leather binding with trembling hands.  
"Who is it?" Came the terrifyingly loud voice from desk at the end of the shelves._ Ichigo tried to create a little distance between his emotions and the child's, it had been a very long time since he had had both the lack of emotional control and the fear to be startled by something so small and he did not want the girl's emotions to blind him to what was really happening. A small thought sprang up in the back of his head and would not be squashed. 'Why was the girl so scared of an adult voice? Was it the normal fear of being found somewhere she may not be allowed... or was it something worse?'  
_"I'm sorry." Robin stammered.  
Professor Clover peered over his spectacles. "Ooh, Olvia's daughter huh?" He stood up and walked up to kneel down to his greatest student's daughter. "No need to apologize. You can read all the books here for free."  
"Free?" The girl repeated in amazement.  
Clover's face broke into a wide grin. "This is the world's greatest library. Do you like books?"  
Sniffling, Robin nodded._

* * *

Ichigo came away from the happy memory with a smile on his face. Although he hadn't learnt much that was useful from the scene it was nice to know that in some way these people were surviving as people in his memories - not statistics or broken bones. Turning away from the memory he began to search out something more linearly recent. Finally he came upon something he recognized. Judging by the strength and feel of it the event had happened very close together to the fire; hopefully it would explain some things. Plus, both Robin and Professor Clovers had left their spiritual signature in the scene and it appeared that it was their emotions that had formed the imprint.  
Shutting off his senses until all that existed was the imprint he closed his eyes. And opened them from within Robin.

* * *

_"Congratulations, Rob~in!" Robin looked up in shock to where the archeologists of the Tree clustered around a table in the centre of the tree, "Congratulations Robin-chan!" The voices continued to shout, "You really do possess hereditary genius!"  
"The archeologist's exam you took the other day!" Professor Clover cheered, "You aced it Robin! You can claim you're an archeologist from this day forward!"  
The exuberant group grinned with pride as one of them added, "We've got cake too! A cake!"  
Robin stared up in silence for a moment before her normally quiet face broke into a large grin.  
Professor Clover's smile was irrepressible as he picked the metal badge and attached coloured ribbon from the table. He leaned down to present the medal to Robin. "Here, this certifies that you're a scholar." His smile widened as he looked at the tiny girl's happy face, "Robin, take this."  
Robin took the medallion holding it close to her chest as she examined it with a soft look of joy on her face.  
"Congratulations Robin!" One of the other archeologists, a large women named Rint applauded.  
On the other side of the newly certified scholar Roche nodded, "Yeah, congratulation Robin!"  
The older man suppressed another smile and grabbed the pointer stick side the map of Ohara, "Listen Robin!" He smacked the pointer against the topographical map. "Remember well what being an archeologist means!" Ichigo perked up from his cover in the recesses of Robin's mind as his point of view shifted to be dominated by Professor Clover's, as it was his emotions that had set this scene in stone.  
"'Knowledge' is the 'past,'" The professor roared. "This is the 5000 year old 'Tree of Omniscience'! There are countless documents that were brought to this 'Tree of Knowledge' from all over the world over numerous years! They are irreplaceable assets for all mankind!" On all sides bookcases covered the walls from floor to ceiling only adding a more impressive backdrop to his passion. Above and to the front him a massive orrery on a stand loomed. "This library takes pride in bearing the world's oldest and biggest 'base of knowledge'. Excellent archeologists," Here he looked at the crowd of scholars clustered in front of him and around Robin, each one a unique figure of all shapes and sizes, each one scholars and voices of authority within their specialty, "that have gathered under this 'Tree of Omniscience' from every sea out there; by us using these books there exists absolutely no mystery of history that we cannot solve!"  
Gradually the man calmed down.  
"Understood?" The archeologist murmured, leaning down and patting Robin's hair, "Be proud of yourself, for being able to study archeology in this place.  
"And I expect you to contribute to the world; with research on various cultures." He said, backing towards the other scholars.  
Robin looked up at him in excitement, "Professor, I... I want to solve the mystery of 'the Void Century'!"  
"WHA-!" The mans mood changed in a flash, his eyes bugged out and he stretched out a hand to his student in desperation, "N-no! That's prohibited! Absolutely prohibited!"  
"Eh?" Robin asked in confusion, "Why! We'll know what happened in the Void Century if we study the 'Poneglyph', right?"  
'_Poneglyph?' Ichigo wondered, 'just what sort of mystery have I gotten myself into!'  
_Professor Clover staggered back, struck by the words, "Nuoooo-!" he cried, "You! How do you know that!? He didn't wait for her to answer and instead answered himself, "I know! You used your 'ability'" _'Devil fruit,' His thoughts whispered to the viewer over fifteen years away. 'I wonder what that is,' Ichigo thought_, "to peek into the basement!"_  
_Mad with worry he roared, "You should know by now that deciphering the Poneglyph is a crime!"  
Robin's mall hands curled in to fists at her sides, "- But all of you! You're studying the Poneglyphs at night in the basement!" She retorted.  
"ROBIN! You-! How'd you know about that? What's going on!? Don't tell me you were peeking on that too?!" Professor Clover exploded.  
"But you'd never let me into the room even if I came in from the front!" On either side of the girl and behind several librarians groaned. Zadie tugged his cowboy hat down over his eyes as they all looked on in dread. Roche grimaced. They hadn't imagined the party could shift gears so quickly. "That's why... I tried my hardest to be an 'archeologist' so you'll let me join in your research!" Robin's lip wobbled as she tried to stop any tears from escaping at the perceived rejection.  
"Robin-chan..." Gram _-a small amount of inherent knowledge granted by the thoughts which still floated in the air of the imprint whispered to Ichigo, 'one of the Robin's teachers' Robin's imprint communicated-_ murmured, wanting to comfort the distraught child.  
Professor Clover knelt down, grasping his pseudo grandchild as he tried to impress his meaning upon her, "It's true... that you've gained the knowledge to claim you're an archeologist... But... Robin, you're still a child!  
"Even us.. if people find out about us, we'll be beheaded. We're determined to do this, We're willing to risk our lives." Robin looked to the side, trying not to burst into tears, "When this became the world's 'law' 800 years ago countless scholars lost their lives all over the world!  
"There's a good chance... Let me tell you, we of Ohara are the only ones who can decipher the ancient writings. We're already involved; we cannot turn back.  
Robin! Swear on the tree of knowledge to discontinue this thought! If you go near the basement again we'll prohibit you from entering the research centre and the library! Understood!?"  
Robin tore herself from his hands and ran._ Ichigo watched to her go sadly. She reminded him painfully like a mix between a younger Yuzu and Karin; but at the same time he could understand how the professor wanted to protect her. Hadn't he done the same thing -if in a different way- when Karin wanted to know what he had been doing during the war? And now he was watching this, knowing that -from what he could tell- in a short amount of time everyone here would be dead -including Robin- and not able to do a thing to help!

* * *

Behind him the scene warped for a second. Two imprints, each one a snapshot of an event that had happened hours apart had woven themselves into each until one could hardly tell where one ended and the other began.

* * *

_"She's totally following her mother's path," One scholar, Hache, a young short haired blond woman wearing a purple bandana remarked, looking from her workbench in one corner of the main floor over to Professor Clover's.  
He didn't look up from the test tube he was examining, but his face was set into a grimace of worry, "She still... doesn't know... the incident from the other day... Robin's mother, Olvia... has been captured. Her fate... is obvious!"_

* * *

Ichigo faded back into self-awareness, realizing just what had happened to cause the destruction of the island. They had found this women; Olvia, and through her had realized that the scholars were committing a capital offence. Still... what kind of government ordered the deaths of a whole island? As he had been watching he had been able to garner a better idea of the population of the island... There were at least 5,000 if not more living on the island; most of whom would have known nothing about the research of the archeologists. _'Well... If I learnt one important thing in these loops it's that the government is corrupt. There's no way in hell I am going to them once I get off this rock.'_  
From the far reaches of the corner of his mind the hollow contributed his two cents, **_'Yeah King, you don't need to follow their rules! Do what you want - just remember to let me out once you get in a fun fight!'_**  
_'I'm trying to avoid fights your idiot!_' Ichigo thought back furiously.  
**"****_Uh huh_**," The hollow said mockingly, "_**And that worked so well the last time you went to a new world."**_  
Images of fighting Kenpachi in Soul Society, Grimmjow in Heuco Mundo and numerous nameless hollows floated before Ichigo's eyes. _'...' _He stayed silent, having no decent retort.  
Still ignoring his hollow Ichigo sent a questing tendril of reiatsu into the void. '_Olvia. Olvia. Olvia_.' he thought, trying to impress what little he knew of the women in to his question. Before his eyes an image formed. Ichigo was looking out of the horrified eyes of Professor Clover. The scene was short, a mere five seconds or less imprinted into the earth, but it showed Olivia. She looked like Robin; it was the first thing Ichigo noticed, then he took in the rest of the picture, _the woman on the wanted picture had white hair down to her shoulder blades. It hung around her bruised and wary face while two resolved eyes looked sideways at the picture. 'Nico Olvia' the poster read. 'Wanted: 60.000.000 berries'._

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AN: Sorry this took awhile to come out but I think the length should make up for it. I'd like a big round of applause to go to my amazing new beta, **sakuralilian** who has helped me greatly. I will also be reposting all the previous chapters beta'd versions in the next few days so look forward to that. There shouldn't be any plot changes that will occur in those chapters so you don't HAVE to reread. However a few points may be better clarified so there is that.

I also wanted to clarify the imprint viewing thing, I've gotten a few questions about it and thought I should clear that up. To Ichigo's knowledge, based off of the island, he arrived on the desolate ruin that used to be Ohara 10-15 years AFTER it happened. (It's about 15 - the events that happened manage to scar the island spiritually enough that things won't grow there for years - on another topic this is one of the things that Getsuga Tensho and other spiritual attacks will do, scar the soul or spirit of anything hit... I'll explain it later when that comes up) When he goes into emotional imprints he is NOT going to the past. Any event that is emotional or Important (i.e. maybe the birth of somebody who's destiny has the potential to be amazing, Gol D. Roger would have fit under this catorgory) has the potential to leave imprints on the spiritual energy of the world. Just like how important events in history are put on stamps to be remembered... this was the world itself remembers them. When Ichigo sinks into an imprint he is experiencing an out of body or soul feeling. His conscious is tagging along inside or alongside one of the people who left the imprint. IT IS AS IF HE IS WATCHING A HOLGRAPHIC MOVIE!

As always if you see anything that could be done better drop me a line and I will definitely look at it. Likewise if you have any questions or just liked something please let me know!


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